How Many Calories In a Glass of Wine?

Ever wanted to know just how many calories are in that glass of wine you're having with dinner? I've put together a chart that breaks down the varietals.

A typical glass is about 5 ounces. But some people pour only 4 ounces. I also provided a column for an entire 750ml bottle (standard sized bottle)...

	Calories 4oz	Calories 5oz	Calories 750ml
red, Barbera	100	125	634
red, Burgundy	100	125	634
red, Cabernet Franc	96	120	609
red, Cabernet Sauvignon	96	120	609
red, Carignane	88	110	558
red, Claret	96	120	609
red, Gamay	92	115	583
red, Lemberger	96	120	609
red, Merlot	96	120	609
red, Mouvedre	104	130	659
red, Petite Sirah	100	125	634
red, Pinot Noir	96	120	609
red, Sangiovese	100	125	634
red, Syrah	96	120	609
red, Zinfandel	104	130	659
white, Chenin Blanc	96	120	609
white, Fume Blanc	96	120	609
white, Gewurztraminer	96	120	609
white, Muller Thurgau	88	110	558
white, Muscat (Blanc or Canelli)	100	125	634
white, Pinot Blanc	96	120	609
white, Pinot Gris	96	120	609
white, Riesling	96	120	609
white, Sauvignon Blanc	96	120	609
white, Semillon	96	120	609

Late Harvest Wines

Late harvest wines are higher in calorie, anywhere from 40% to 50% higher. This is because with late harvest wines, the grapes are allowed to sit on the vines longer, ripen more fully, producing more sugar. The yeast is killed off by the alcohol before it can consume all the sugar, producing a sweeter, heavier wine.

Champagne

Champagne doesn't really offer any more or any fewer calories. It's pretty much the same as white wines.

It's the Alcohol

While wine seems like it contains a lot of sugar, it's actually the alcohol content that produces the most calories. Wines do contain a fair amount of sugar, particularly the sweet wines, dessert wines, and late harvest wines.

But it takes only 4 calories to burn off 1gm of sugar, compared to 7 calories to burn off 1gm of alcohol. And wine has more alcohol than it has sugar.

A typical 5oz serving of wine weighs about 142 grams. Of that, anywhere from 15 grams to 18 grams is alcohol. Sugar comprises about 4 grams. The rest is water.

Dieting With Wine

People tend to drink more than one glass of wine with their meal because a typical glass of wine is quite small (about 5oz). If you and your date share a full bottle of wine (750ml), each person is adding another 300 calories to their meal.

The sweetness in wine also hides the alcohol very well, and invites you to drink more.

Wine also enjoys a wide social acceptance, making people feel comfortable about drinking more. Someone who drinks a lot of wine is considered cultured and refined, while someone who drinks a lot of beer is considered a meat head. But yet, wine contains more alcohol, and more calories than beer, about three times more.

The good news is that much of wine is still water, and most of the weight gain will come from that water. You can easily pee it out. But because of its sweetness, and social acceptance, it's easy to go overboard and pack on the calories.

Keep a glass of ice water with your meal if you need to quench a thirst, instead of asking for another bottle of wine.

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